


Early/Late

by ladymac111



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Winter, voltronexchange2k17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 09:16:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13143618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladymac111/pseuds/ladymac111
Summary: Shiro's out for a freezing sunrise run when he encounters someone he knows, heading back after a night of astronomy, and decides to take a little risk.





	Early/Late

**Author's Note:**

> Gift for [flaming-potato-arson](http://flaming-potato-arson.tumblr.com) for the [VLD Winter Gift Exchange 2017.](https://voltronexchange.tumblr.com/) Thank you so much for the prompt, I had a great time writing this for you!
> 
> Rated T only for a little bit of swearing.

There wasn’t much that Shiro loved more than going out for a run at sunrise.  The world was perfectly still, and the light always had that magical quality, night fading into milky twilight and finally golden rays of sun.  The getting out of bed part wasn’t always easy, especially in the dead of winter like this, but he nearly always found it to be worth it in the end.

And it was a bit different in winter than in the warmer months.  He was getting used to it now, his third winter in the upper Midwest, but it still wasn’t exactly easy.  It definitely made his residents think he was a total badass, though, which came in handy when he had to lay down the Res Life Law on occasion.  He supposed the impressive physique it enabled him to maintain was a part of that, too, since not many of them were usually awake when he was leaving or returning.

Shiro checked the weather, and had to make adjustments to his wardrobe based on how far and how hard he expected to run.  He also had to leave a bit earlier to preserve that quietude he liked; by the time the sun came up at 7:30, the people who had 8:30 classes were starting to head to the dining halls for breakfast.

Today he got out just before seven.  The wind chill was pretty damn low this morning; not dangerously so, but it would be distinctly uncomfortable if he was unprepared.  So he had layered up pretty much everything he owned that was running appropriate, and finished it off with the neoprene face mask that he sort of hated because he felt like it made him look like a serial killer.  He hoped that the reflective stripes on his jacket, pants, and shoes did something to mitigate that effect, for the unfortunate people he did encounter.

It would be a brief run today, he decided, and not too vigorous; just enough to get out and feel good about moving.  He had half an hour before sunrise, and then he could head back to the dorm for a hot shower before breakfast, and then he could relax for a while before his class at ten.

The predawn air was clear and bitterly cold.  He hit the pavement before he could let the chill get into his muscles, which meant that the cold wind hit his eyes hit right away.  He tried not to squint too much -- it was still pretty dark, and he did need to see -- and blinked the drops of tears and ice away as best he could as he made his way south towards the stadium.

But _man_ , this was one of those mornings where he was just not feeling it.  Every step jostled his bones, which only wanted to be back in his warm bed.   _Keep going_ , he told himself, trying very hard to believe it.   _It’s only been two minutes.  It normally takes ten to hit my stride._

The first mile got him around the south end of the stadium, so he turned up to the northeast and took the next mile and a half a little harder, getting him all the way to the memorial union.  By then he was starting to feel good, and turned west, intending to take the trail along the lake back to the dorm.

But running along the lake quickly proved to be a mistake.  They say it’s warmer by the water, but it’s also flat, which meant that there was absolutely nothing impeding the wind.  By the time he was past the union he’d had very much enough of it, so he made his way south, enough to get some buildings between himself and Lake Mendota.  The paths that ran along Observatory Drive would make a serviceable enough route back.

The light in the sky was just getting to the point where it actually felt like the sun was going to rise when he saw a figure ahead of him, bundled in a heavy coat with a big backpack, and trudging in the same direction as Shiro was running.  When he got close enough that he suddenly recognized the collection of patches on the backpack, the figure heard his footsteps approaching and glanced over his shoulder.

“Matt!”

Matt stopped abruptly, and Shiro had to hit the brakes so he wouldn’t simply crash into him.

“Shiro?”  Matt pulled his scarf down off his mouth, and then pulled his glasses off -- they were so badly fogged he probably couldn’t see through them anyway.  “The fuck are you doing?”

“Morning run.”  Shiro pulled his own mask down, exposing his face.   _God, it was cold_.  “What are _you_ doing out so early?”

“Not early.  Late.  All-nighter.  Heading back to go to bed.”

“The sun’s almost up.”

Matt threw his arm dramatically to the east, and Shiro noticed that he was wearing lime green mittens.  “No kidding.”

“Let’s keep going,” Shiro said, pulling his mask back up.  “Too cold to stop.”

“Yeah, definitely.”  Matt covered his face again and turned to continue his trudge, though he shot Shiro a skeptical look when he kept the walking pace.  “Aren’t you freezing?”

“I already ran three miles,” Shiro said, trying to sound nonchalant.  “I’m pretty comfortable if the wind isn’t on me.”

“Lucky you,” Matt said.  “My lab was freezing all night.”

“You weren’t actually in the observatory, were you?”

Matt laughed gently, and Shiro’s heart danced.  “No, not this old thing.  But I did a research project in the fall with our ‘scope down at Kitt Peak, and I’m giving a poster at double-A-S in a couple weeks so I needed to get all my shit together to make the printer deadline, which is today at noon.”

Shiro didn’t know the first thing about Matt’s major.  Well, he knew it was astronomy, and he knew that Matt was _incredibly_ passionate about it.  He had the sort of passion that always made Shiro want to ask him, just to get the experience of it -- but he’d always been too shy when they ran into each other in the dorm in the fall semester.  They were just neighbors really, acquaintances, not friends.  And Shiro was Matt’s RA, and although Matt never caused any real trouble, he was frequently peripheral to mischief.  It wasn’t conducive to starting any kind of familiar relationship.

But early morning runs were magic.

Which is why Shiro was walking now, despite the cold.  Letting himself indulge that desire from deep in his heart that wanted to really _talk_ to Matt, to really listen to him and get to know him.

“What’s double-A-S?”

Matt chuckled.   _Shiro loved that laugh.  He’d never heard it until just now, and he loved it_.  “American Astronomical Society.  They have undergrads give posters at their twice annual meetings, and I get to go this time.”

“That’s pretty cool.”

“I know, right?  I feel like a real astronomer now.”

Shiro giggled, actually giggled, and felt slightly silly.  Maybe he could blame exercise endorphins.  “Do you think you can explain to a history student what your research is on?”

Matt raised his eyebrows so they disappeared up under his hat.  “Oh!  Um.  Well, do you know what a quasar is?”

“I feel like I’ve heard the word.  Is it one of those things that, like, protons are made of?”

“No, I think you’re thinking of quarks.”

“Could be.  I was terrible at physics.”

Matt glanced at him, and Shiro got the feeling he was smiling.  “Anyway, if you don’t know what a quasar is I probably can’t explain my research before we get back to the dorm.”

“What if you have more time?” Shiro said, before he could feel like he shouldn’t.  “What if we went to breakfast together and you told me then?”

Matt stopped for a second, falling half a step behind Shiro before he caught up.  “I-I guess,” he said, stammering, and in an instant Shiro was certain he’d blown it, he’d come on too strong.

“I mean, we don’t have to or anything, you were going to go to bed.”

“Oh, no, I don’t mean it like that,” Matt said quickly, stuffing his hands deeper into his coat pockets and glancing at Shiro out of the corner of his eye.  “I mean, I have been up all night, but I love breakfast.  Plus, if I can explain it to a non-astronerd while I’m sleep deprived, it means my poster is probably pretty clear, right?”

Shiro laughed, and the cold air deep in his lungs was decidedly brisk.  “Yeah, probably.”

“I need a shower, though,” Matt said.  “I know you can’t tell but I’m the greasiest ball of shit you’ve ever seen right now.”

“I need a shower too,” Shiro said as they turned the corner and their building came into view.  “How long do you need?  Half an hour?”

“Make it forty-five minutes?”

“Sure.”

A beam of sunlight suddenly appeared, casting enormously long shadows over the snowy ground.

“Oh my god,” Matt groaned.  “Sunrise.”

“That’s the reason I’m out so early,” Shiro said, turning his head just enough to get a tiny bit of it on his face.  “Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Ugh,” Matt said.  “You’re a morning people?  Nope, this will never work.”

Shiro was thrown for a moment, absolutely convinced he’d heard something that Matt had definitely not said.  “What will never work?”

“Never mind,” Matt said quickly, and Shiro’s conviction suddenly came back -- maybe he wasn’t imagining the subtext.

“Matt, are you --”  His words caught in his throat, and he coughed.  “I mean, this can be a … a breakfast date.  If you want it to be.”

Although Shiro tried to be open to his residents about his pansexuality, he had no idea if Matt was into dudes.  This was a shot in the dark, and probably a very stupid one.   _You shouldn’t have come onto him like that, you’re being way too bold, you’re reading him all wrong…._

“Yeah, uh.”  Matt cleared his throat.  “Sure.  I’d -- I’d like that.  A breakfast date.”

Shiro almost stumbled over his own feet.  “Okay.”

Matt made a deep coughing sound that might have been a laugh.  “You okay?”

“Great,” Shiro said quickly, trying to catch his breath.  “Taking a minute to come to grips with the fact that I scored a breakfast date with the charismatic genius who lives on my floor.”

The sound Matt made this time was definitely a laugh.  “Happy to oblige, I guess?  And it’s a fair trade: I got a breakfast date with the stupidly hot RA on _my_ floor.”

Shiro felt giddy, lighter than air; he’d heard whispers of the _stupidly hot_ thing, but nobody but Matt had ever dared to say it to his face.  He loved it.  “Sounds like we both got what we wanted.”

Matt swerved on the sidewalk, just a bit, just enough to nudge Shiro with his shoulder.  “Sounds like we did.”


End file.
